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VTE linked to atrial fibrillation risk

Incident venous thromboembolism (VTE) is associated with future risk of atrial fibrillation, supporting the hypothesis that pulmonary embolism (PE) may lead to arrhythmogenic cardiac dysfunctions, according to a study published recently in the Journal of the American Heart Association.1

The authors examined 29,974 subjects recruited from the Tromsø study (1994–1995, 2001–2002, 2007–2008). Incident VTE and atrial fibrillation events were registered from date of enrolment to end of follow‐up, December 31, 2010. Cox proportional hazard regression models using age as time‐scale and VTE as a time‐dependent variable were used to estimate crude and multivariable hazard ratios (HRs) for atrial fibrillation with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

During 16 years of follow up, 540 (1.8%) subjects had an incident VTE event, and 1,662 (5.54%) were diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. Among those with VTE, 50 (9.3%) developed subsequent atrial fibrillation. Patients with VTE had 63% higher risk of atrial fibrillation compared to subjects without VTE. The risk of atrial fibrillation was particularly high during the first six months after the VTE event and among those with PE.